About

Compassion. Love. Advocacy.

History

Most parents expect their lives to permanently change when their first child is born. We expected that but didn’t have any idea how much our lives would change when our sweet girl Aubrey was born in the summer of 2012. By early 2013 we had our first lengthy stay at Methodist Children’s Hospital in San Antonio, TX which started our 3 and a half year journey of trying to find answers. We had a great medical team between the specialists at Methodist Children’s Hospital, Children’s Hospital of San Antonio and TX Children’s Hospital in Houston but ultimately were unable to determine a diagnosis. During our journey with Aubrey we experienced firsthand the challenges that families of children fighting rare and undiagnosed diseases face when it comes to navigating between private and medicaid insurance and extended hospital stays as a family. We also found the power of celebrating every one of life’s victories and finding genuine joy and laughter on a daily basis.

We had a great support structure with our family, friends and an extremely accommodating employer. Our time at Dr.’s offices and hospitals made it clear that not every family was as fortunate to have the same level of support. We saw families from hours away from the hospital that weren’t financially able to stay with their children in the hospital and others that were from out of town and didn’t have friends and families to lean on.

After Aubrey earned her angel wings in late 2016 we decided to start a foundation that honored her strength, love and positivity and from that the Be Fierce Foundation was born August 2017. Our goal is to make life a little easier for fierce families and to help bring a moment of happiness in a challenging time.

How you can help

We can all have a profound impact by contributing with our love, time or donations. Every little bit helps.

We've been so touched with the outpouring of love from our friends and family since Aubrey earned her angel wings. Please keep it coming!

We are cooking up some great events in the future and would love the help of volunteers to ensure they run smoothly. If you have an interest in signing up as an individual Be Fierce team volunteer for future events or as a non-profit that is interested in collaborating with us please reach out on the "Contact Us" section on our home page and we'll let you know when there are more details.

We are also accepting donations at this time to help fund care packages and financial grants to fierce families. If you are interested and able to donate please use the "Donate Now" button on our home page.

Team Fierce

Mike, Katie and their fierce girl, Aubrey, in 2013.

Co-founders

Mike & Katie Kyne

Mike and Katie are the proud parents of their warrior princess, Aubrey Elizabeth, who earned her angel wings in 2016. They founded the Be Fierce Foundation in 2017 to honor Aubrey's legacy of love, joy, and strength within the rare and undiagnosed disease community. They experienced firsthand the amazing highs and the challenges that our system puts on families fighting rare and undiagnosed diseases. They want to help accentuate the highs and lend a helping hand to help overcome challenges fierce families face.

Katie's full time job and educational background is as a communications leader and Mike's is in business as a leader in strategy and innovation. They intend to bring these skills to bear on Team Fierce to deliver love, joy, and assistance to families that are facing rare and undiagnosed diseases.

Devan and Sam Bonahoom, Board of Directors members

Board of directors

Sam & Devan Bonahoom

Both members of Be Fierce’s board of directors, Devan is the secretary of the board and executive director of San Antonio operations; Sam is the director of marketing and community affairs. Devan and Sam are dear friends of the founders, Mike and Katie, and have been a huge source of strength during Aubrey’s journey. They are the proud parents of two little girls, Isla and Eden.

Jenna Syrdahl, Board of Directors member

Board of directors

Jenna Syrdahl

Jenna is the chief legal counsel for Be Fierce and executive director of operations in Colorado. Being a special needs mother herself, she understands firsthand the challenges that families face when their child has been diagnosed with a rare condition. She resides in Colorado and brings years of legal experience to the Be Fierce team. She and her husband Slade are also the proud parents of two little girls, Alyssa and Emma.